Founding Editor: Daya Varma (1929-2015)
Editors: Vinod Mubayi (New York) and Raza Mir (New Jersey).
Editorial Board: Ram Puniyani and Irfan Engineer (Mumbai); Pervez Hoodbhoy (Islamabad); Dolores Chew (Montreal); Vamsi Vakulabharanam (Amherst); Ajay Bhardwaj (Vancouver).
Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
EDITORIAL: COMMUNAL RUMBLINGS AMONG DIASPORIC SOUTH ASIANS REFLECTS THE GROWTH OF HINDUTVA WITHIN INDIA AS MINORITY MUSLIMS ARE INCREASINGLY TARGETED BY THE MODI REGIME
Vinod Mubayi
The reported communal riots in the town of Leicester in the UK are, at one level, an ugly manifestation of the Hindu-Muslim squabbles that have bedeviled the subcontinent for many years. What happened at Leicester and why and who was responsible will be established after the UK police enquiry is complete. Meanwhile the familiar, banal reasons were cited: tensions among rival fans after an India-Pakistan cricket match, and petty fights and ethnic slurs in public areas. These were followed by reports of attacks on a temple and a mosque.
Read more…PUCL CONDEMNS THE MASS RAIDS, THE ARRESTS OF PFI LEADERSHIP AND CADRE AND THE BAN ON THE PFI
V. Suresh, General Secretary PUCL
The PUCL is deeply concerned about the implications for democracy and the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and association in the light of the ongoing `Operation Octopus’ which is being carried out against the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates, across the country as a joint operation of the CRPF, the home ministry, ATS, NIA, ED, RAW, State police, and other agencies.
Read more…THE MODI-ADANI TANGO: UNPRECEDENTED CONCENTRATION OF POWER AND WEALTH
Editorial in ‘Liberation’
On 16 September, the day before the 72nd birth anniversary of Narendra Modi, his closest capitalist friend Gautam Adani had briefly become the world’s second richest person according to Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires List before being pushed back to the third position.
Read more…REMEMBER BHAGAT SINGH FOR HIS IDEAS AND VISION
S Irfan Habib
Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September 1907. We know him as a martyr and a nationalist par excellence but, lately, we have also learnt of his intellectual capabilities as a young man. Some of my own efforts have helped to unravel his intellectual evolution through his writings, many of which have surfaced during the past few decades.
Read more…IN INDIA, DEBUNKING FAKE NEWS AND RUNNING INTO THE AUTHORITIES
Suhasini Raj
Alt News, an independent website, has emerged as a leading debunker of misinformation in the nation, but highlighting hate speech against minorities has put it on a collision course with the government.
Read more…UNPACKING THE FLOODS IN PAKISTAN: ON ROOT CAUSES, CHALLENGES AND GAPS IN STATE CAPACITY
Interview with Dawar Butt
On 25 August, Pakistan declared a state of emergency due to flooding, which has been described as among the worst in the country’s history.
Read more…HOW DEMOLITIONS ARE DEEPENING THE DESPAIR OF INDIA’S POOR
Aishwarya Ayushmaan and Anagha Jaipal
Two decades ago, when six-year-old Reena returned to her basti (informal settlement) in Manglapuri, Delhi after attending school, she couldn’t find her home. Frantically, she searched around for half an hour until she found her mother.
Read more…IN A FIRST STUDY OF PAKISTAN’S FLOODS, SCIENTISTS SEE CLIMATE CHANGE AT WORK
Raymond Zhong
Pakistan began receiving abnormally heavy rain in mid-June, and, by late August, drenching downpours were declared a national emergency. The southern part of the Indus River, which traverses the length of the country, became a vast lake.
Read more…TESTING TRANSNATIONAL LABOUR SOLIDARITY IN THE LABORATORY OF BANGLADESH
Nafisa Tanjeem
The contemporary global supply chains have taken the art of exploiting labour to serve the purpose of the elites of both the center and the periphery of the global capitalist system to a whole new level.
Read more…THE ‘NEW’ INDIA: A POLITICAL-ECONOMIC DIAGNOSIS
Pranab Bardhan
The preamble to the Constitution of India affirms the solemn resolve of its people to found a ‘socialist, secular, democratic republic’.footnote1 Today, on the 75th anniversary of the country’s Independence, it is plainly neither socialist nor secular—nor, one could well argue, democratic.
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